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Several people have been arrested and questioned by Israeli security services as part of a probe into how secret documents that favoured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies in Gaza were leaked to two foreign newspapers.
The arrests were made public after Israeli newspapers convinced a court to partially lift a gag order related to the investigation, with the court telling the newspapers that the leaks “may have damaged Israel’s war goals in the Gaza Strip”.
“Several suspects were arrested for questioning, and the investigation is ongoing,” the judge said in court, in remarks cited by local media.
Netanyahu had earlier in the day asked for the order to be lifted too. Israeli media reported on Friday that one of the suspects is a press adviser to Netanyahu but not an employee of his office.
“Contrary to the false publications and the appearance that the media try to paint, no one from the prime minister’s office was investigated or arrested,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The leaks to the UK-based Jewish Chronicle and Germany’s Bild Zeitung cited documents found in Gaza that showed Hamas planned to divide Israeli society with propaganda efforts about the hostages.
They also suggested the group wanted to smuggle the hostages to Egypt via tunnels under the so-called Philadelphi corridor, which separates Gaza from Egypt. The Israel Defense Forces had seized the area in May.
The stories appeared at the end of August and beginning of September when regular mass street protests in Tel Aviv were piling pressure on Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire in order to free the hostages.
Netanyahu refused to give up control of the Philadelphi corridor, which many regional diplomats believe was a major reason for the negotiations failing.
The IDF briefed reporters after the stories ran that the documents were written by a low-level Hamas official, were old and not indicative of the army’s intelligence about Hamas’s strategy.
Bild, Germany’s best-selling tabloid, is seen in Israel as a pro-Netanyahu publication. The Jewish Chronicle, a small but influential newspaper in the UK, was later stung by the revelation that the journalist writing the story had either fabricated or embellished his resume.
The storied newspaper, which was founded in 1841, apologised for the articles, removed them from its website and severed ties with the journalist.
Several of its influential writers resigned in protest, partially over this issue alongside disagreements about the newspaper’s pro-Netanyahu coverage and unresolved questions about its ownership.
Netanyahu had asked for the gag order to be lifted as speculation about the issue reached fever pitch, saying earlier on Friday that “the continuing order serves as cover for the malicious and intentional denigration of the prime minister’s office”.